The initiative proposed for April 21 on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in which more than 250 people died. The objective is to unite two of the churches that were targeted in the attacks in 2019. The archbishop denounced the corruption and lust for power of government officials who would have covered up the facts.
Colombo () – The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, called on Christians and the people of Sri Lanka to form a Jana Paura (a human chain) to demand the truth about the attacks on Easter Sunday 2019, during the which killed more than 200 people.
For the cardinal, who spoke yesterday at a press conference from the bishopric, the government would have covered up the facts: “We well remember the former attorney general’s statement that there was a great conspiracy behind these attacks. A position that he also supported in his report of the Parliamentary Commission appointed at the time by the Government of Yahapalana”.
“For the good and the future of the country,” Cardinal Ranjith continued, “citizens must know what happened during the massacre. In the past there have been murders, violence, and religious and inter-ethnic conflicts, during which the principles of the state were ignored of law and justice to gain and maintain power. This corrupt political culture adopts the strategy of making people forget all these crimes. Our intention is to show that we will not give up in our efforts to expose these evil methods. We are convinced that if If we abandon this effort, we will set a bad precedent for the country.”
On April 21, 2019, during the Easter celebrations, a group of terrorists carried out suicide attacks against three churches and four luxury hotels, in which more than 253 people died and some 500 were injured. In January this year, the then President of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, was sentenced by the Supreme Court to compensate the families of the victims. He was found guilty for the negligence of the officials he himself had named, who would not have prevented the attacks from taking place.
“This country now has a deeply corrupt political power base. In such a situation, criminal activities could also be carried out in the future to achieve or maintain power,” the prelate stressed. “This is the context in which it is necessary to uncover the truth behind the Easter bombings and bring to justice the masterminds and criminals behind them. Four years have passed and it has still not been possible to identify the perpetrators and bring those responsible to justice.”
“Therefore, we invite all citizens, regardless of their racial or religious differences, to assemble along the main Colombo-Negombo road, on both sides, peacefully, before 8:30 a.m. on April 21, to form a human chain linking the Church of Saint Anthony, in Kochchikade, with the Church of Saint Sebastian, in Katuwapitiya, in Negombo”, two of the buildings that were the targets of the attacks.
Participants will be invited to observe two minutes of silence at 8:45 a.m. and to remain in line from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., standing at the edge of the road, avoiding disturbing traffic. Cardinal Ranjith also invited those unable to join the human chain to observe two minutes of silence in their workplaces.
